Page 31 of More Than Scars
“No, it’s, um, it took me a moment before I remembered where I’d seen your face before, and it didn’t exactly come with the most pleasant memory.”
“I bet,” he replied. “It’s why I came tonight. When I saw your name on the flyers that went up for tonight, I figured it would be the only chance I’d get to tell you how sorry I was about what happened. The day was going along like any other day, rushing through breakfast and lunch with my phone to my ear, lining up building supplies in between fussing with contractors about why certain projects weren’t completed on time. I’d been popping antacids for days, figuring that I was just dealing with the worst indigestion of my life. My wife had been after me to go see my doctor. I wish I’d done a better job of listening to her back then. She was gracious enough not to sayI told you sowhen I woke up in the hospital. She’s amazing like that. I felt lower than dog shit when I found out that I hurt someone when I’d lost control of my car. I’dnever once considered that I might be having a heart attack. One quadruple bypass and a great many lifestyle changes later, I’m just grateful to be able to stand here and look you in the eye and tell you how sorry I am that you got hurt that day.”
“I’m glad you were able to get help in time,” I said.
“You and me both. You guys sounded amazing up there. I’d heard you were a musician and that you’d gotten cut up by glass during the accident, but by the time I was in any shape to reach out, you’d moved, and the guys there claimed to not know how to find you.”
“You went to my old apartment in Portland?”
“The place over a bar, yeah, I did, and I even spoke to the bartender. He said you’d moved out, but that he didn’t know where you’d gone either. I didn’t want to go into full-on stalker mode and pay one of those websites to give me your new address, so I let it drop, at least until I saw the flier the other day. I wasn’t even supposed to be up here in Seattle, but a project hit a snag, and I drove up to help my guys figure it out. Saw the flier in a diner around the corner and felt like fate stepped in to finally give me the chance to apologize.”
“Damn, that, umm, does sound like there was some divine intervention involved,” I muttered, feeling stunned and a bit humbled to know that he’d been carrying the incident around with him the same as I had.
“I don’t want to take up too much of your evening; I’m sure there are plenty of other people waiting to talk to you,” he said. “Thanks for not asking someone to boot my ass out of here, not that I’d have blamed you if you had.”
“No, I, umm, appreciate you coming down here tonight,” I said. “I’ve umm, there have been plenty of times when I’ve been pissed off about what happened to me, but they told me pretty early on about the heart attack and you trying to pull the car over only to hit me in the process. Maybe I’d have heard danger coming if I hadn’t had my music up so loud. I guess for whatever reason, fate just meant for us to collide that day. I don’t hold a grudge against you or anything; I’m just glad that we both survived it.”
“Me too. I’d never have been able to forgive myself if I’d killed you.”
“Pretty sure that would have sucked for me too.”
Laughing was a far better end to this encounter than the ambulance rides we’d received after our previous one. He made an awkward lurch forward that I finished for us both, hugging him and being hugged in return, before watching him disappear through the door that led back into the club. Him coming here tonight meant the world to me. Maybe now I could finally just let it go, since there was no undoing it. Life really had smacked us both that day, and from the sound of things, both of us had changed. Maybe the future I’d been heading for back then would have been filled with disappointment and regret. We’d clearly not had the staying power to survive a rough patch in the road. Would this band?
Goddess willing, we’d have a long-ass time to find out, though personally, my vote would be for never.
Chapter Fourteen
Pressley
“Who’s that guy Bowie’s talking to?” I whispered into Tony’s ear. The crowd was loud and out here that was the only way to communicate unless I pulled my phone out or we followed Bowie down the hall. I wasn’t about to do that. If he needed me, he’d wave me over.
“I’ll let him tell you. It’s personal and not my story to tell, but believe me when I say you have nothing to worry about.” Tony was agood guy, and I knew he was rooting for Bowie and me as a couple. “If it was bad, I’d straight up tell you.”
I trusted them both, plus I wasn’t the jealous type either. Protective, yes, but jealousy wasn’t an emotion I dealt with. Though I couldn’t help but wonder, had this person hurt Bowie in the past?
“Hey,” Bowie jogged up to us as I tracked the man he’d been talking to as he left the bar. “That was, um” nerves? “The guy who hit me.”
“Hit you how?” I was ready to notify security.
“On my bike. You know, the one who had a heart attack.”
Oh shit. “Oh, whoa.”
“Exactly. It took me a minute to figure out who he was and how I knew him, but he came to apologize. Guess he’d been looking for me after he got out of the hospital but kept hitting the ‘he moved’ roadblocks everywhere he went. He wanted to say sorry and make sure I was okay.”
“That’s actually really cool. He’s welcome to stay and have a drink with you guys if you’d like?” Internally, I breathed a sigh of relief. This was the exact closure Bowie needed to move forward in his healing process. I knew that accident and his scars weighed heavily on him, especially after seeing his single fuck-up he made tonight when he stopped playing to make sure his hair covered his face.
“Nah, he saw one of the fliers, popped in and said his piece, and now he’s headed home to his wife.” Bowie was all smiles, and I couldn’t stop myself from pulling him in for a kiss. “I’ve been waiting to see if PDAs were on your approved list.”
“Approved list?” I laughed. “You guys were amazing tonight. I can’t wait to see what you do when you’re plugged in. You’ll rock the fucking house for sure.”
More smiles and another kiss, only this time the sweet man I had an arm wrapped around controlled it. “It felt good, it felt right. We fed off each other and played together, not apart. No one tried to outdo anyone else. It was fucking off the charts.” He and Tony high-fived. “Can’t shake the adrenaline.”
“Shots!” Claude called out. “On me.” He ordered the group Jaeger bombers and passed them out. “To Imminent Danger. We’re all about proving the haters wrong, and I’m proud to be a part of this group.”
“To Imminent!” They called out as they tapped their shot glasses and tossed them down.
“Now that’s what we want to hear,” Shadow said, startling the group. “You played like a band, not like individual showboaters. Forming a strong bond and friendship with your band brothers is key to the band’s success. I’d be nowhere without Ryder, Derek, and Jaxson. They’re my family.”